5 March 2008

Classic, Classy, Copenhagener

"One must never ride into the back wheel of a loved and charming woman, unless one is convinced in advance that one's love for said woman will always be, and must be, unhappy."Johannes Wulff in "Paa cykle" [On the Bike], from 1930

Another Copenhagen supermum in her natural environment. Elegant boots with sharp heels, leather trousers, fur scarf, this winter's popular red gloves, oversized sunglasses and... a chunky old Bobike seat for her kid[s] resting on an anonymous Raleigh.

3 comments:

I forward this site to many friends, and they love it. But they all say things like "Oh I wish I lived somewhere with a bike culture like that" or "oh i long to live in the Netherlands or Denmark."

My response: stop driving your car everywhere you go. We will never have a "bike culture" in the US if everyone spends their time longing for Europe and continuing to drive around their American cities. Instead of complaining, we all need to dust off those old bikes and ride to work.

Since finding this site, I have made it my goal to turn my small town into a European-style bike city. It has what it takes. Everywhere worth going is in biking or walking distance. It's a great city with great restaurants, arts, and entertainmnet. But no one rides (except for the black-swathed anarchist/critical mass types)--they all drive and complain about parking. In fact, I have found that I can get around and do errands (and even commute) much quicker than I can in a car.

My goal is to ride my bike to work--in my stylish work clothes (heels and all)--when weather permits (we have real winter here) and hope that others catch the bug.

Thanks for the continuing inspiration to get me out the door on those days when driving sounds so much easier!